Belfast -

BELFAST – Belfast citizens group Friends of the Bridge is pleased to announce that Colonel John â€śJackâ€ť Mosher will be present at noon Friday, Oct. 8, to officially christen Armistice Bridge, the footbridge at the base of Peirce St., and to unveil the bronze memorial plaque that lists the 55 â€śSons of Waldo Countyâ€ť who perished in World War I.
Mosher is himself a son of Waldo County, having been a lifelong resident of Burnham until a recent move to Waterville. Col. Mosher is a decorated combat veteran of the war in Afghanistan and currently serves as Director of Operations for the Maine Army National Guard.
In addition to his official duties, Mosher has also worked to improve services to aging veterans as well as for suicide prevention among troops currently serving. According to a spokesman for the Maine Army National Guard, the colonel recently ran an ultra-marathon from Washington, D.C. to Maine to raise awareness of veteransâ€™ issues.
â€śI have a great sense of devotion and affinity for our veteran heroes of Waldo County,â€ť says Col. Mosher, adding, â€śI will speak proudly on behalf of our veterans…and from my heart.â€ť
Friends of the Bridge invites the public to attend this official rededication ceremony of the bridge, which was originally dedicated 89 years ago to the day in 1921. Back then, it was called Veterans Memorial Bridge and stood as a monument to World War I. It was abandoned as a vehicle bridge in the 1960s, and Belfastâ€™s Route One bridge took the name Veterans Memorial Bridge.
In 2004, Belfast residents voted to save and renovate the badly deteriorating footbridge, and it was reopened in 2006.
Friends of the Bridge recently raised $4,000 to reproduce a bronze plaque missing since the 1960s that lists the 55 soldiers from Waldo County who died during World War I.
Earlier this year, Friends of the Bridge successfully petitioned the Belfast City Council to officially rename the span â€śArmistice Bridge,â€ť in an attempt to recapture its significance as a World War I memorial. That war came to an end when the Armistice was signed in November of 1918. For many years, Armistice Day was celebrated in memory of that peace. In the late â€™50s, the United States Congress changed the name to Veterans Day.
Fridayâ€™s event will begin at the west end of Armistice Bridge with comments from Friends of the Bridge organizers Tammy Lacher Scully and Francis Marsano, as well as from Col. Mosher. Gov. John Baldacci is also expected to attend, as are descendants of the men listed on the plaque.
After brief comments, there will be a procession across the bridge to unveil the plaque, which will be mounted in much the same fashion as the original.
â€śFrancis and I have been looking forward to this day for a long time,â€ť says Scully, adding, â€śit will restore the bridge to what it was always meant to beâ€”a memorial to a war that many hoped would end all war.â€ť
For further information, contact Scully at 338-2361 or at tlscully@myfairpoint.net.